Abstract

Artificial intelligence has catapulted to the forefront of political agendas throughout all levels of government. Across every major market and facet of society, policymakers face difficult tradeoffs between individual rights and collective welfare, innovation and regulation, economic growth and social equity. Federal and state institutions are resolving these tensions differently. The resulting policy patchwork may or may not be desirable, but the immediate point is that AI federalism is happening fast. To meet the moment, this Article provides the inaugural study and a research agenda for “AI federalism.” First, the Article provides the origin story of AI federalism, mapping the political and doctrinal territory. Second, the Article bridges disciplines and audiences who care deeply about AI’s place in society yet fail to appreciate how federalism can help or hurt the cause. Third, this Article makes a positive case for embracing AI federalism. While centralized AI policy at the national level has surface appeal, getting there requires a shared commitment on what to optimize for—as a nation, we are nowhere close. Federalism does not provide the answers. Rather, it provides a platform for dialogue and dissent, regulatory innovation and adaptation, intergovernmental cooperation and friction. This array of structural affordances is hard to find elsewhere in the law, and we likely need all of them to address AI’s sprawling economic and social disruptions.

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